Personal info
Known for
Actor
Gender
Male
Birthday
21 December
Location
Seoul, South Korea
Edit pageSteven Yeun
Biography
Steven Yeun was born in Seoul, South Korea, to June and Je Yeun. His family initially moved to Canada and lived there for a year before immigrating to the United States. He grew up in Michigan and has a brother named Brian.
Yeun attended Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where he initially studied psychology and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 2005. During his freshman year, he developed an interest in acting and improvisational comedy after watching the college improv group Monkapult. Although he had considered pursuing medical school, he ultimately chose acting and began studying theatre.
While in Chicago, Yeun became involved with Stir Friday Night, an Asian-American sketch-comedy group, and later joined the Second City comedy troupe. He also appeared in commercials for companies including Best Buy, Apple, and Milky Way.
His early screen credits included The Big Bang Theory (2007) and Jerry (2009). Yeun later achieved international fame as Glenn Rhee in The Walking Dead (2010–2016). His acclaimed performances in films such as Burning (2018), Minari (2020), and Nope (2022), along with the Netflix series Beef (2023), established him as a prominent actor.
For Minari, Yeun became the first Asian-American actor nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He later won an Emmy for his role in Beef. Outside of acting, Yeun enjoys playing guitar and has continued to work in film, television, and voice acting.
